After today’s catechesis, Pope Francis blessed a statue of St. Rita of Cascia, offered by a group of Lebanese faithful to the Italian archdiocese of Spoleto-Norcia, which will be placed at the crossroads between the saint’s birthplace, Roccaporena, and Cascia, where her relics are held. He invited all during the upcoming Jubilee of Mercy to “reread her extraordinary human and spiritual experience as a sign of the power of God’s mercy.”
He also greeted among others the Sister Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from Poland, who are currently in Rome, the “heart of the Church”, to give thanks for the beatification of Klara Ludwika Szczesna, co-founder of this congregation, in Krakow last Sunday. “By her life, the new Blessed taught us about giving oneself to God, humble service to neighbours, life according to the spirit of the Gospel, and sensitivity to the poor, to those in need and those who have lost their way in life. May her motto, “All for the Heart of Jesus”, be a challenge for all of us, so that we may live according to God’s will.”
Finally, he recalled that today we celebrate the memory of St. Jerome, and said, “Dear young people, may his passion for the Sacred Scripture lead you to fall in love with the Book of Life; dear sick people, may his austerity bring meaning to your suffering; dear newlyweds, may his spiritual vigour strengthen the faith of your new home.”
